The venue took a chance on hosting Ballet British Columbia on its first tour of Britain and Europe – and I for one believe it has to be one of the best additions to this year’s programme at the venue.

The work – three pieces from three different female choreographers – are each sensational and the overall package simply phenomenal.

This is the best programme of dance I have witnessed in years, and the roar from the audience at the end of the company’s opening night in Newcastle was richly deserved.

Each piece had a fluidity and symmetry that was mesmerising, while the final work, Bill, was primal and hypnotic.

Ballet British Columbia (Image: Michael Slobodian)

First up was Emily Molnar’s 16 + a room, Which was inspired by the work of Virginia Woolf, Jeanette Winterson and Emily Dickinson and looks at what might happen if you put 16 people in a room and then started tipping that room.

At times the work is breathtaking – you feel as though the stage could actually be tipping, as the dancers slide and sway while incorporating some classical ballet elements into the contemporary dance.

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Middle work, Solo Echo, is equally as captivating. At the heart of Crystal Pite’s work is the story of a man coming to terms with himself at the end of his life, with recurring themes of acceptance and loss.

Ballet British Columbia (Image: Wendy D)

Just as with 16 + a room, there is never a moment when you are not wholly enveloped in the work.

But those two are just a teaser for the finale, Bill, which has to be one of the finest pieces of dance I have seen. Choreographed by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, it is stunning from start to finish, with the dancers in skin-tight androgenous body suits, casting a spell on us all with their incredible synchronicity.

Bill - British Ballet Columbia (Image: Publicity pic)

Few, if any, pieces of any theatre has had me in its grip quite like this. All hell could have been breaking loose around me, and I would not have taken my eyes off the stage.

Cinematic, dazzling and, quite frankly, mind-blowing, you simply do not see this standard of dance often. The physicality, precision and athleticism of the dancers takes your breath away.

Ballet British Columbia’s debut at the Theatre Royal was a total triumph. Tickets still remain for tonight’s final performance. My advice - get them quick!

Hopefully the Royal’s programmers will have this wonderful Vancouver-based company back, and sooner rather than later.